The Sergeant and the Shopkeeper
by hopefulromanticx
Summary: Gale visits Twelve years after the Rebellion and stops by a toy store to explain himself to a certain shopkeeper. Gale is finally ready to prove to Madge that he cares, and that he was an idiot. But Madge, is not happy to see him and is resistant to hear Gale out.
1. Part 1

The Sergeant and the Shopkeeper

Part 1:

When Gale opens the door to Meadow Toys, a bell rings and a familiar musical voice calls, "Let me know if you need anything! I will be upfront in a moment!" Gale smiles because he never thought he would hear that voice again in person. He imagines her with her blonde hair casually wrapped in a messy bun the way she always did when she was trying to focus on something. He imagines the girl, woman now, in a pretty light blue dress running around the back trying to make it more orderly. It is strange how he could still read her by her voice, he did not need to see her face to know she was determined, and possibly slightly frustrated. She would probably become more frustrated when she realized who walked into her shop.

Gale walks around the store, waiting for the shopkeeper to make her promised appearance. He is fascinated by the shop. The store is full of toys, most of which seemed homemade and completely original. Gale would have bet that most toys in the store did not have many that looked exactly the same. Gale picks up a doll, and he recognizes the fabric the doll is created from. It was the dress Madge had worn to the reaping when Katniss was called to the stage, and everything had changed. Gale thought of that day as the day when the world flipped upside down and everything that was supposed to be, changed. He was no longer meant for Katniss after that day. Her heart would belong to another, and he did not know it until it was almost too late, but his heart belonged to another. The doll's body was sewn and stuffed and the doll appeared to have a floral complexion because her body was made of a pretty dress instead of a simple white or black fabric. The doll is wearing a black dress and Gale lifts the doll's arm, and discovers that lace was sewn along the arm and attached to the doll's back. The lace resembles black wings and with the dark hair, and grey button eyes, Gale knows immediately who the doll is modelled after.

"That's a popular one." The voice calls, and Gale can tell that she has moved closer. "Too many girls aspire to be the girl on fire. Do you have a daughter?"

Gale turns around and meets her blue eyes, the same ones that have haunted him for months in his nightmares.

Madge gasps, and she drops the yo-yo car that she was holding. It drops to the floor and rolls towards Gale. He bends down and picks up the car, studies it then looks back at Madge with a crooked smile. It takes Madge a moment to recover from her shock. Gale watches her transition from pure shock to cold, and standoffish. It amazes Gale that he can still read her so well, even after all of this time.

"Sergeant Hawthorne," Madge finally greets him coldly with a nod.

Gale winces at her coldness. He expected this, she was rightfully mad at him. He left her in Twelve, before the firebombs. He left her behind, and she could have died. He had thought she did, until recently. "I prefer Gale or Hawthorne." Gale states and reaches his hand out with the car for her to take.

"I heard you were going by that these days." Madge says and her hand brushes his for a second as she takes the car and Gale wishes she had let it linger for a moment. She turns around and heads back to her counter. She sets the car down and keeps herself busy so that she does not have to look at him. "What brings you into a toy shop? Do… Do you have children?" She hesitates only a moment but she forces the second question out.

"No. No kids." Gale answers and he walks over to the counter. He dings the bell on the counter and Madge jumps at the sound because she was not expecting it. "Madge…" Gale pleads for her to turn around and to meet his eyes again. He probably did not deserve it but he still wanted it. Madge slowly turns around after hearing his plea, and her blue eyes meet his grey ones once again. "I came to see you." He says to her and he wants to reach out and touch her but he knows that will probably result in her slapping him or at the very least sending a death-glare his way. He thinks that he sees her give in, and that she is starting to warm up to him, and that she is fighting a smile. Maybe he is simply hopeful though. The bell that hangs above the door jingles again, and Gale sighs because he cannot seem to catch a break.

"Madge, dear!" A cheerful familiar voice calls. Gale turns around to see a blonde woman, in a plain pale green dress. "Oh, Sergeant Hawthorne. How wonderful to see you again!" She smiles as she moves closer to him. She glances at Madge with a concerned look and then plasters the smile back onto her face. "I was certainly not expecting to see you here."

Gale scrunches up his face as he tries to recognize the woman. Madge says, "We are all surprised by the sergeant's appearance in Twelve today. What do you have there, Eff?" Eff? Eff as in Effie? This woman is Effie Trinket. Gale imagines the woman with a painted face, a bright pink wig and a fancier dress and he finally sees it. Effie Trinket has changed so much since she has seen him last.

"Oh, I was picking up some bread at the bakery for dinner tonight and Peeta asked if I could stop by Meadow's to give you these strawberry sensation cookies he made this morning. Katniss found some strawberries in the woods this morning. He wanted you to be the first to taste the new recipe before he starts selling them. I needed to stop by to make sure our plans were still secured for this evening." She says and drops the basket of cookies on the counter. She then turns her attention to Gale. "You must come by tonight! Haymitch and I always have everyone over for dinner on every other Saturday. We would love to have you and to catch up."

"Thank you Effie. I'm not sure I will be able to make it. I have a lot of things I need to sort out." Gale says politely and Effie nods as if she understands. Maybe she does.

"Well if you are able to find some free time, we have hors de oeuvres at 5 and dinner at 6. It is a wonderful occasion and it would be great if you could make it." She smiles to him and actually seems genuine.

"I'll see if I can make it." Gale says.

"Great! Well, I better get going! I need to start cooking for tonight. I will see you then Madge! If I do not see you Gale, it was lovely seeing you again."

"It was good seeing you too." Gale says politely because he remembers Katniss complaining about how much Effie pushed her to be polite. He did not want to burn another bridge while he was trying to fix all of the ones he has previously burned.

As soon as Effie leaves, Madge says, "I'm not sure why you came by Gale, but I am trying to work here."

Gale turns his attention back to her and nods. "I know. I just needed to see you, and to see the shop, to know that everything I had heard was true."

"Well, you saw it. I'm alive, no thanks to you. I'm doing quite well thank you." Madge says and raises her chin. Back to the freeze out he was hoping they were getting passed before Effie entered the shop.

Gale runs his hand through his hair. This is not exactly how he hoped this would go. He knew she would be mad, but he hoped she would at least show him that she was feeling something. She is completely shutting him out and it is as if she is numb to everything from the past. "Look, I know you owe me nothing. I screwed up. Repeatedly. I know the timing sucks, we've never been good with timing but I needed to see you. I wanted to talk to you. I don't deserve that, I know, but I thought maybe you would want to talk to me too. I know you are busy, but I didn't know where else I would be able to find you." Gale looks to his hands and he nervously cracks a few knuckles. His heart is pounding. He's lost her before, he's not sure he can do it again. "I'll be at _our_ meadow around four. If you do want to talk to me, you can come by after you close. If not, I understand."

Gale cannot read her face, but she gives a curt nod that does not tell him anything he is hoping to see. "Bye, Gale." She says softly and avoids his eyes.

Gale nods and turns away. When he reaches the door, he pulls it open and the bell jingles. He turns back to Madge, and she is watching him leave. "This place is beautiful, Madge," he says and leaves everything else unsaid. On his way out of the door Gale sighs because old habits die hard, and he still can't tell this girl how he feels.


	2. Part 2

Madge cannot focus on anything the moment he leaves the store. _This place is beautiful, Madge. I came to see you._ Those little phrases repeat themselves to her throughout the day. Lunchtime slowly comes because there are very little customers, and her mind cannot focus on creating toys when Gale was in her store this morning. She closes the store to take lunch and she immediately heads over to the bakery. There is one person that would have told Gale she was alive and in Twelve. She felt betrayed and she was going to kill Peeta for sticking his nose where it did not belong.

The bakery smells like strawberries and sweet bread. It makes Madge aware of the fact that she skipped breakfast this morning. Her stomach growls in response to the smell and she wishes she had felt like grabbing one of those cookies before she left her store.

"Madge!" Peeta greets her with a huge smile on his face. "How were the cookies? Should I put them on the menu? I was not sure if they were too sweet, but I figured you were the person to…" He trails off and takes note of her disposition. Peeta has always been able to read people. He knows the right thing to say and to do, except this time he messed up. He did the wrong thing by calling Gale, especially without even warning her. _What kind of friend would do that?_ "Are you okay Madge? Did you skip breakfast again? You look pale, here, take some sweet bread." He says and offers her a loaf.

"Why did you contact him?" Madge blurts out.

Peeta looks to her with confusion, and when she does not take the loaf he offers, he sits it back in the basket. "Who did I contact?" Madge glares at him. Peeta thinks for a moment, his face scrunches up with concentration, and then he seems to realize what she is talking about. "Oh… is Gale in town?"

"Yes. We know why don't we? Why would you do that to me?" Madge asks him.

"I thought it was the best thing…" Peeta sighs. "For you, Katniss and Gale." Peeta takes out a ball of dough and begins to knead it. "This bitterness has gone on long enough. Katniss and you are both miserable, and don't pretend that you are not. I figured, if you both were miserable maybe he was too. We fought a war to make a better life for ourselves. There is enough misery in the world, we don't need unnecessary misery because of unanswered questions."

"He left me to die." Madge says venomously to him. "There are no unanswered questions. All of my questions were answered the day of the firebombs. He chose to leave me." Madge looks down and forces the lump in her throat down.

"I don't believe any of that. I don't believe that he just simply left you, and if he did that would only spark more questions. For example, why did he leave you? I know you've got to be curious about that." Peeta states as he twists the dough and places it on a pan.

"I know why he left me. I meant nothing to him." Madge says to Peeta and swipes away a tear that started to fall from her eye.

"If that were true he would not have left his post in Two and traveled all the way to Twelve to visit a toy store. But maybe he does hate you, and he just wanted to torment you. But you'll never know unless you give him a chance to explain himself." Peeta says as he tosses the twisted dough into the brick oven. "The least you could do is talk to him. Then you cold both go your separate ways. But this unfinished business does no one any good."

Madge looks at Peeta for a moment after he has spoken, wondering if he would say more and wondering if he was right. Was she really so curious about the boy with steel grey eyes that she was willing to drop whatever pride she had left to go meet him in the meadow? She looks down because she instantly knows the answer. Yes. She has always been too curious about the strange boy. It has always gotten her in trouble. Madge has no doubt that it would again.

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading this! This is a short update for a very short story. I probably should have given you this heads up before you became committed to the story. Right now, this story has three parts, and this concludes the second part. However, who knows I may get inspired to continue this story. I hope you are enjoying it still! Thanks so much for reading, favoriting, and reviewing!**


	3. Part 3

**Author's Note: I did some editing and this story will be more than three parts now… maybe five? Although this story is told in third person, I find myself focusing on Madge or Gale's emotions on certain parts of this story, so I have divided these sections by "Gale-centric POV" (or perspective on Gale's thoughts and emotions), and "Madge-centric POV" (or perspective on Madge's thoughts and emotions). I hope this is not confusing to anyone. This is the first time I have really done this so I am playing around with it. I also wanted to show both character's thoughts and feelings at different parts so that you can learn more about that character's psyche. Thanks for sticking with me! I appreciate you all signing up for Alerts, and reviewing! Enjoy Part 3!**

Part 3:

 **Gale-centric POV:**

Gale is walking to the meadow to wait on Madge. He may be waiting forever. He is not confident in the fact that Madge would come. Especially given the fact that speaking with Katniss had gone so poorly.

He had stopped by Katniss' after visiting the Meadow. At first, Katniss would not speak to him, she focused all of her attention on feeding Haymitch's darn geese. But then Haymitch came outside, and helped her to face Gale. He and Katniss are not on great terms now, but it is better. Maybe someday they could become friends again…

This week has been so strange for Gale. He never thought he would feel like he owed Peeta Mellark or Haymitch Abernathy, but after they seemed to work so hard to get Madge and Katniss to give him a chance, he felt like he was indebted to him. He has always hated feeling like he owed someone something. Ma had told him not to be stubborn when he left for these missions this morning. She told him that being stubborn would get him nowhere, and if he wanted a relationship with either of these girls he needed to be flexible, and needed to try to earn their trust back.

How do you go about earning someone's trust back? Gale wonders as he sits in the meadow and picks at grass blades.

The grass feels like it did that day with Madge… their last day together. He remembers the way the blades felt that day, every sense of his was heightened that day. Back then, he had wanted to remember every detail of their first time together, and every detail of Madge.

Now, he sometimes wished he did not remember so much. Being alone is a lot more difficult when you remember who you are missing so badly.

Gale looks to the sky to brush away any thoughts of that last day together. He needs to be focused. If Madge shows up, she would be able to tell if he was not focused on what was happening right now. The sun is slowly sliding down closer to the horizon. It is almost time… the moment of truth. Would she show? Or would she bail?

Gale lays back on the grass and tries to figure out what he is going to say to her. He should have planned this before asking her here, but Gale has never been big on rehearsing words. He is impulsive, and he has always believed that words should come out naturally. However, now, when he thinks about not knowing what to say to Madge, he wonders if he will blow it, or if she'll leave thinking she wasted her time.

In the distance, Gale can hear rustling of leaves. It's coming from clumsy, awkward feet. Gale smiles, knowing that it must be Madge. He jumps off the ground because he suddenly cannot wait for her to slowly reach the meadow. He'll meet her on the way, and maybe that will give them more time to talk. He begins to walk towards her by following the clumsy noises she makes on her way to the meadow.

He spots her soon enough, she has a determined look on her face. She is practically stomping through the forest.

"Let's go to the meadow that will be fun." Madge grunts as she stomps closer to the meadow. "It's not like either of us has anything better to do besides go for a hike in the woods. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

Gale smiles a little, because it's adorable how she rants to herself when she is flustered. He has missed so many things about this girl. Gale stops in his tracks. He has once again been the reason for her annoyance. He realizes he is tired of hurting this girl, and causing her pain. He cannot ask her to forgive him. That's not really what he wants. He wants, no needs, for her to be happy. He needs to talk to her to figure out what he needs to do to help her be happy.

 **Madge-centric POV:**

The whole journey from her shop to the meadow, Madge curses herself and her curiosity. She curses Peeta and his nosiness. But mostly she curses Gale because after all it was his fault they were in this mess. Why did he show up outside of her house the night after the Reaping? Why did he spend time with her and make her fall in love with him? Why did he leave her to burn by the firebombs? Why did he come back now?

Madge looks around, she still knows this path like the back of her hand. Years have not erased it from her memory. Isn't it funny how you could want something to disappear from your memory and it seems like your brain holds onto it that much harder? Or maybe it is her heart, making her brain remember. She starts her second round of cursing the boy with the steel grey eyes but it is quickly interrupted when her foot comes in contact with a large, protruding root. Madge quickly falls and hits the ground. She groans, this is a sign, she should not be here.

"Undersee?" Gale's voice says as she is examining her scraped palms and knees. Madge looks up to meet those darn steel grey eyes and she curses herself for going back home and changing before this meeting. She changed into a light blue sundress. She planned on wearing it to the party, but she also made sure she looked nice for this conversation. What good it did her. There is no way she is looking like something Gale Hawthorne would miss at this moment. Gale moves closer to her and reaches his hand out for her to take. When he notices she hesitates, he says, "It's just a hand." Gale cocks his head at her and examines her. Madge looks down, his intense stare makes her feel uncomfortable.

Madge considers ignoring his hand but she could really use the boost. She takes it and he helps her up easily. She quickly releases her hand from his because she doesn't want to feel the fire of his skin against hers. Gale's face falls a little more when she pulls her hand away.

"How did you find me? This isn't where we were supposed to meet." Madge says to him and she continues walking toward the clearing. Gale follows closely beside her.

"Despite my best efforts, you're still a little noisy in the woods." Gale says with a small smirk.

"Well it has been a _long_ time since those lessons. I don't hardly even remember them." Madge says casually. Hopefully that hurt him a little bit.

Madge can see that her words cut him. _Good._ She thinks and she can't hide the small smile that crosses over her face.

"Why did you show up Madge?" Gale blurts out. "I was betting you wouldn't show."

"Did you not want me to?" Madge asks. "Is this all some scheme to make you feel better about yourself? You come and offer to meet me and when I don't show up you can feel good because at least you tried to get the girl to forgive you. You can sleep at night because you tried?"


	4. Part 4

Part 4:

 **Gale-centric POV:**

Gale cringes at her words _. Is that really what she thinks of me?_ He thinks to himself as he looks away from her and looks at the trees. _Of course, she does. You left her to burn in the firebombs, idiot._ The voice inside Gale's head says this as he notices a deer grazing in the distance. He would rather be hunting than having this conversation. He is himself when he is hunting, he can focus on catching game and could ignore all of the other troubles in his life. Hunting was his escape when he was responsible for all of his family members' wellbeing. These woods were his sanctuary and he had forgotten how much he missed them since he left.

But, Gale needed to tell Madge what really happened that day so that she could understand. She may hate him right now, but Madge has always been understanding. Gale takes a deep breath because he doesn't know where to go from here. _What do you say to a girl that has lost all faith in you?_

A cool, smooth hand gently touches his forearm to get his attention. Gale turns back to Madge and meets her beautiful blue eyes. Madge's hand drops away from his as she says, "I'm sorry, Gale." Gale steps closer to her because the distance between them is practically painful. He notices her intake of breath when he moves closer, and decides it would be better to not move any closer. Madge's eyes move away from his and she looks down. "That's not really what I think of you, Gale." She says softly, and Gale hardly hears it.

Gale clears his throat, hoping that it will get her to look at him. It takes her a moment but she finally lifts those blue eyes to meet his. "But it's how you wish I was. It would make this a whole lot easier." He says to her softly.

Madge's face falls as she nods, and looks down again. Gale thinks that he glimpses shame on her face when she looks away from him. After another moment, Madge's eyes meet his once again, and she leans a little closer. Her eyes search his face as if she is looking for a lot of answers in the lines of his face. "How do you know me so well?" Gale watches as she takes a deep breath like she is preparing herself for something bad. "How could you know me, and understand me, but still leave me in Twelve to **die**?" Madge says to him and her voice cracks on the last work, but she looks at Gale fearlessly, and her gaze does not falter once.

"I thought you were safe Madge." Gale blurts immediately and he steps closer to Madge. "I was sure that your family had been evacuated from Twelve and that you would be untouched. I stupidly thought that the Capitol would protect the mayor."

Gale moves even closer to Madge. His hand gently cups her face. "I need to explain to you what happened that day." Madge bites her bottom lip and nods. "That night, I couldn't sleep after we were together in the woods. I'm not sure why really, I should have been exhausted after our activities that day." He chuckles a little and Madge's cheeks flush with color. Madge seems uncomfortable so Gale drops his hand from her face.

"But I couldn't stop thinking, so I went outside to go for a walk. That's when I saw the peacekeepers loading up. All of them, Madge. Not one peacekeeper stayed behind. I knew something bad was about to happen. The Capitol would not simply leave the district with the risk of rebellion. So I rushed back home and woke up Ma. She didn't think the Capitol would do anything drastic. She was about to go back to sleep, but I asked her if she would bet Vick, Rory and Posy's life on that hunch. She couldn't do it. She couldn't risk my siblings dying because of a false sense of safety she felt. So we packed up what we could carry and we headed out. Ma sent us to bang on the neighbors' houses. To give them a chance to make their own decision. I thought about going to Town, to check on you. But, I was sure that you were gone. I was sure you would have been evacuated from Town. Your family would have been informed and for some reason you couldn't have relayed the message. For a moment, I thought maybe you had known all along and you didn't want to tell me. But I know you, Madge, you would have warned me if you could have." Madge nods in agreement to his statement. Gale gulps as he continues his story.

"Vick, Rory and I split up banging on doors, waking people up to warn them." Gale shudders a little. "I still remember the sound of the hovercraft, Posy cried out for Ma from her position on my back, and we all had this heart sinking moment that told us that what we were all fearing was coming true. As they got closer, we resorted to shouting as we ran towards the fence. I knew we only had moments. We barely made it to the fence before the first bombs dropped. I turned around to see where they hit, and I saw they hit right in the center of town. Then they continued to drop more. We fled, I became the leader because I knew the woods. After a couple of days, a lot of people were losing spirit, and I was losing hope. No district would take so many refugees. It could be a death sentence to their district. Luckily, a hovercraft from District Thirteen rescued us. I was greeted by Haymitch and that was when he told me the Captiol didn't save you. He was positive that your family perished in the firebombs." Gale's throat tightens as he remembers the feeling of losing Madge.

"I knew it was my fault. There was a chance I could have gotten to you in time, but I didn't even try. I'm so sorry, Madge. I realized how stupid I had been to believe you were safe. I thought you were dead. It was my fault you were dead. I had promised you I would take care of you, and I left you to die, Madge. I was filled with rage, I wanted to kill Snow and every single Capitol citizen. I was bloodthirsty and reckless. I was willing to do anything to finish this war, and to win the war. I designed the bomb that killed Prim, Madge. I'm the reason she is dead." Gale's eyes are burning now, he's never said the words allowed. They've always been in his head, but he had never uttered them to another living soul. "When Peeta told me you were alive, I knew I owed you an explanation. I don't expect you to forgive me, Madge. I broke my promise, and that is unforgivable. But I didn't want you to have to wonder for all these years."


	5. Part 5

Part 5:

Madge-centric POV:

Madge moves closer to Gale, and she takes hold of his hand, she laces her fingers through his like it is second nature to her. "Peeta told me about the bombs. You will never know whether that bomb was yours, Gale. I'm choosing to believe it wasn't. But if it was, you never made that call to drop it. That's on Coin, not you. I truly believe you never would have made that call, Gale. You never would have hurt Prim or any innocent children." With her free hand, Madge pushes a stray piece of hair back. Gale looks down at her and smiles but Madge can tell that he has forced it.

Madge turns around and guides him to a fallen log. She sits on it and Gale does the same. "I bet you're wondering how I'm alive. You've thought I was dead for a few years now. I'm sure you are just as curious as I was."

"You don't owe me anything, Madge. I want you to share it only if you want to." He says softly.

"I've never told anyone the whole story before. I've never been able to say all of it." Madge watches a bird fly and then swoop down to a tree branch. It bounces on the limb and then moves to another branch. It's not content with what it finds there and flies away. "I've replayed that day in my head over and over again. Maybe it will be therapeutic to say it out loud." She forces a smile, but Gale sees right through it. His face is one of concern, and his hand lays on top of hers gently.

"I had gotten home from our night in the meadow. Dad was nervously pacing in his office. Of course, he had a feeling about it, but he didn't let it on to me. He told me he was nervous because Mom was having a really bad day. He was needed in his office all day and wouldn't be able to go out to get the herbs we needed for her migraines. He told me that he heard Greasy Sae was out of the herbs and I would need to go and find them in the woods. I have had to do this a few times now, when the Capitol's supplies have run low and Sae doesn't have any stock. He made me promise to hurry out and get them because she would need them soon. Mom was almost unbearable when she did not have control over her migraines. She would whine and cry for hours nonstop. I looked at him suspiciously because something felt off. Then he told me he was counting on me and that did me in. I ran upstairs to grab my bag to carry them in and then I rushed outside to go to the fence." Madge is playing with a loose string on her shirt, and cannot seem to make herself look up.

"I knew he was lying, or that something was off but he told me he needed me so I went." Her voice cracks slightly. "I had just reached the place to get one set of the herbs when I heard the hovercrafts. My heart dropped into my stomach. Dad had talked about how silent the Capitol had been over the past couple of days. If hovercrafts were showing up, it was not going to be good. I grabbed a few herbs and started running back home. As I was climbing back over the fence, I felt the Earth shake beneath my feet and a bright blast a short distance away before I was thrown backwards in the aftershocks. It didn't take me long to recover but I saw the bombs drop right on my house. I heard more hovercrafts and I saw them circle back around for round two. I knew something must have gone terribly wrong in the Games. I looked towards the Seam, but it was hit too."

Madge pulls her eyes up to Gale's. "I was sure you were dead. Everyone I loved flashed in front of my eyes, Gale. I started running along the fence to avoid some of the blasts and to try to see the damage. I was focused on the district, I didn't see the giant rock. My ankle twisted and I fell down. Everything went black." Madge absentmindedly rubs a scar on the top of forehead where she had woken up to find a cut after she had fallen.

"I woke up with huge headache and the district in ashes. I walked the streets, the first place I went to was home. Everything had turned to ash, Gale. I knew in my heart they never got out. I walked to the Seam next, everything was destroyed there too. Snow had sent his message to the Mockingjay loud and clear. After looking for survivors, and finding none, I needed a plan. I needed to find somewhere I could blend in. I needed a district that I could be conspicuous in, and one that could support me. I had seen the clips of District Eleven's rebellion. I knew it was my best bet. A little girl was on the outskirts of the district looking for berries when she spotted me limping. She called for her mom, and as soon as they reached me I passed out from dehydration. I hadn't been able to find any water in the past few miles and the journey had exhausted me."

"They took me in Gale. They were some of the kindest people I know. They had lost a son to the Rebellion, and the mother had a memory of gold. She knew I was a mayor's daughter, and she knew that if I was out in the woods on my own, something was terribly wrong. They hid me in their house and gave me the food they could afford to spare. I watched updates of the Rebellion in their house, and word of District Thirteen was spreading like wildfire in Eleven. People hoped that if one District had survived after all this time than they had prepared for this war. They knew in their hearts the Capitol would lose, I was not so sure."

Madge smile slightly. "I saw you in the Mockingjay's propo, and at first I was so giddy. You were alive Gale Hawthorne. Then my thoughts began to darken as I heard about more and more district Twelve members that were saved by the heroic Gale Hawthorne. All Seam kids, no Townies. I started to hate you. You chose to leave me, and my heart shattered. I hated Snow, I hated the Capitol, but I also hated you Gale Hawthorne. All of my doubts and insecurities came alive in that little house in Eleven. I had always doubted your feelings and then I knew that you had chosen a path that did not include me and I hated you for it. I hated you for showing me that you cared that last night, and then choosing to leave me." Madge chuckles a little. "It seems silly now, but I blame all that extra time I had on my own in that little house. I had plenty of time for my thoughts to fester."

"I did little rebellious in Eleven. I started working in the fields and walking the streets. I needed to get out of there and to do something. I got close with a Peacekeeper…" Gale shoots her a look and Madge can read betrayal, jealous, and anger in it before he corrects himself and becomes neutral again. "Not _that_ close. But I flirted a little, and showed him attention. He was awfully lonely and hated being stationed there. We became friends, well… fake friends. I used him for information. I would snippets of his conversations and sometimes he would let things slip. I reported to the Eleven Rebellion leader any information I got in case it was vital." Madge shrugs. "I wasn't escorting the Mockingjay through the Capitol or anything but I was doing something." Gale gives her a look that clearly states that she should not be belittling herself.

Madge clears her throat and continues. "Victory news hit Eleven strong and for a month, I stayed with the family that was so kind to me. But I kept having this constant feeling that I needed to move on. I couldn't hide in Eleven forever." Madge pulls at the strings again. "There were whispers of Katniss and Peeta returning to Twelve. There were rumors about you joining and there were rumors about the Mockingjay's cousin living in Two. So I went home. I needed to rebuild my life, and one day I saw a kid playing with a rock from the ashes. My heart broke a little bit because I thought he should be playing with a toy without a care in the world. I thought about our cruel world and how quickly it took away childhood and innocence. I got the crazy idea of making toys. The boy was the first to get a Meadow original. I quickly received wishes for more. Then store opened up and has become my life." Madge smile bigger, "Peeta says I am a workaholic but even he can't deny the joy the toys have brought to the children. I finally feel like I've made a difference. A good difference. I feel like my parents would be proud of who I have become. I love working all the time, and making something new. Do you know what I mean?"

Gale nods, and Madge knows that he does understand. "That's how I felt during the Rebellion and when I first took the Two assignment. I felt like I had value and that I was making a difference in the world." Gale takes Madge's hands in hers gently. He looks her in the eyes. "But, Madge, you made a big difference long before you were making toys. I was stupid and never admitted it. You got to me, Undersee. You made me want to be better, to save the world and to try to see the good in it. When Katniss was Reaped. I hated everything, and I only thought of saving her family and her coming home. Somewhere during those first Games, you got a hold of me Madge. I was destructive and dangerous but you calmed me, and your friendship and concern meant more to me than I ever told you. Somewhere in those second Games, I fell in love with you Madge. It was solidified that night in the Meadow, and I should ran back for you, or looked for you afterwards. I should never have let you go, Madge."

Madge leans into his chest and her ear rests against his pounding chest, Gale's arms wrap around her and she feels safe. For the first time since the bombings, she feels like she's home. It sounds lame, and childish. But Gale Hawthorne, the fiery, temperamental and stubborn boy from the Seam is her home. She has been trying so hard for years to fix the District and the emptiness in her chest, and this boy comes along and does it almost instantaneously. "Don't let me go again." Madge whispers against his chest and she is unsure if he heard her until she feels the kiss on the top of her head.

"Never." He whispers softly and Madge looks up into his eyes for a moment before cupping his face in her hands and pulling his lips against hers. His arms tighten around her and pull her into his lap. She straddles his hips, and deepens the kiss to get more of him. Her hands move from his cheeks to his hair and she tries to pull him closer.

They pull away breathless from the steamy kiss. Madge is trying to catch her breath when the words slip out. "I love you." She breathes out and Gale gives her a smirk.

"I was hoping you did, Undersee." He says before pulling her against him and kissing her again. He pulls away after a second and Madge groans at the loss of contact. "In case it isn't clear, I love you too." He says before he brings her mouth back onto his and they both get lost in the kiss.

A/N: Hey! I am so sorry for the extremely late update. I had almost lost hope for this story. I got stuck and wasn't sure how to write the rest of the story. But inspiration came to me tonight so I quickly wrote it. That being said, I have not re-read it or edited it yet, so it is probably rough. But I really wanted to get this out to anyone who is still interested in this story. I think this will be the last update for this story, unless people show interest in a possible epilogue or another update. Let me know if you want to get more! Thanks for reading and for still caring about this story! Much love to all of you! -Courtney


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